Calisthenics

This article is about the form of physical exercise. For the Australian competitive performing art, see calisthenics (Australia).

School children perform sit-ups, a common type of calisthenic, during a school fitness day.

Calisthenics (American English) or callisthenics (Commonwealth English) are exercises consisting of a variety of gross motor movements—running, standing, grasping, pushing, etc.—often performed rhythmically and with minimal equipment, so essentially, bodyweight exercises. They are intended to increase body strength, body fitness, and flexibility, through movements such as pulling or pushing oneself up, bending, jumping, or swinging, using only one's body weight for resistance; usually conducted in concert with stretches. When performed vigorously and with variety, calisthenics can provide the benefits of muscular and aerobic conditioning, in addition to improving psychomotor skills such as balance, agility and coordination. Many consider calisthenics as "movement through space", meaning you can move freely without any restriction blocking your full strength.

Urban calisthenics are a form of street workout; calisthenics groups perform exercise routines in urban areas. Individuals and groups train to be able to perform advanced calisthenics skills such as muscle-ups, barspins, and both front and back levers.

Contents

The word callisthenics comes from the ancient Greek words kallos (κάλλος), which means "beauty" or "beautiful" (to emphasize the aesthetic pleasure that derives from the perfection of the human body), and sthenos (σθένος), meaning "strength" (great mental strength, courage, strength and determination). It is the art of using one's bodyweight as resistance in order to develop physique.

Calisthenics is associated with the rapidly growing international sport called street workout. Street workout as a sport consists of athletes competing against one other by each showing their body-weight strength and control in timed routines to impress a panel of judges. The World Street Workout & Calisthenics Federation (WSWCF) based in Latvia orchestrates the annual National Championships in up to 50 different countries (as of 2015[update]) and hosts the World Championships for all the national champions to compete at one competition. The World Calisthenics Organization (WCO) based in Los Angeles, CA. promotes a series of competitions known globally as, Battle of the Bars(R). The WCO created the first ever set of rules for true 1 vs 1 competitions, including weight classes, timed round system, original judging criteria and a 10-point must system - giving the increasing number of athletes worldwide an opportunity to compete in these worldwide competitions.

Performed face down on the floor, palms against floor under the shoulders, toes curled upwards against the floor. The arms are used to lift the body while maintaining a straight line from head to heel. The arms of the subject should go from fully extended in the high position to nearly fully flexed in the low position, while the subject makes sure to avoid resting on the floor. Resting is only done in the high position of the exercise. Chest, shoulders, and triceps are trained with this exercise. By furthering the range of motion, what is often called a push up, by pushing the shoulders downwards at the top the serratus anterior comes further into play.

An overhead bar (sometimes called a chin-up bar) is grasped using a shoulder-width grip. The subject lifts their body up, chin level with the bar, and keeping the back straight throughout. The bar remains in front of the subject at all times. The subject then slowly returns to starting position in a slow controlled manner. This primarily trains the lats or upper back muscles, as well as the forearms. An underhand grip variation or chin-up trains both the back and biceps.

Much like the pull-up, except that the hand placement is reversed. The hands are facing the person as he pulls his body up using the chin-up bar. The chin-up focuses on the biceps muscles, rather than the Latissimus dorsi muscle which is the focus of the pull up.[4]

Standing with feet shoulder width apart, the subject squats down as far as possible, bringing the arms forward parallel to the floor. The subject then returns to standing position. Squats train the quadriceps, hamstrings, calves, and gluteal muscles.

A handstand is the act of supporting the body in a stable, inverted vertical position by balancing on the hands. In a basic handstand the body is held straight with arms and legs fully extended, with hands spaced approximately shoulder-width apart.

Done between parallel bars or facing either direction of trapezoid bars found in some gyms. Feet are crossed with either foot in front and the body is lowered until the elbows are in line with the shoulders. The subject then pushes up until the arms are fully extended, but without locking the elbows. Dips focus primarily on the chest, triceps, and deltoids, especially the anterior portion.

This is running back and forth between two points (or cones) typically separated by 5-40 meters, as fast as possible, with a touchdown. The emphasis should be on stopping, turning back and accelerate back to a sprint as quickly as possible.

The L-sit is an acrobatic body position in which all body weight rests on the hands, with the torso held in a slightly forward-leaning orientation, with legs held horizontally so that each leg forms a nominal right-angle with the torso. The right-angle causes the body to have a notable "L" shape, hence the name "L-sit". The L sit requires you to keep your core tensed and hold your legs horizontal so your body sits in a perfect 'L' position. This requires significant abdominal strength and a high level of hamstring flexibility.[5]

There are a rising number of outdoor fitness training areas and outdoor gyms. Some are designed especially for calisthenics training. Calisthenics parks have equipment like pull up bars, monkey bar, parallel bar and wall bars at one location. The bars are connected to enable transfers between the elements.[6]